Obama, Carter, Nixon all had requests to appoint family members to White House jobs denied

President Trump and Jared Kushner.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

For decades the Justice Department warned presidents against appointing their relatives to White House positions, including unpaid positions, citing a 1967 anti-nepotism law, Politico reports. The earlier opinions — stretching from President Richard Nixon to President Barack Obama — were ruled obsolete in January at the request of the incoming Trump administration, citing a 1978 law that "permits [the president] to make appointments to the White House Office that the anti-nepotism statute might otherwise forbid," a Justice Department attorney, Daniel Koffsky, wrote.

Politico's Freedom of Information Act request revealed that in 2009, the Justice Department ruled that Obama could not appoint his half-sister to a commission on White House fellowships or his brother-in-law to a commission on physical fitness. In 1977, the Justice Department ruled that President Jimmy Carter "may not" appoint "Mrs. Carter to be the chairman of a Commission on Mental Health." And in 1983, lawyers informed President Ronald Reagan that "we think the proposal to have a member of the president's family serve actively on the Commission on Private Sector Initiatives raises virtually the same problems raised by Mrs. Carter's proposed service."

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.